THE IMPORTANCE OF SAYING NO – WHY SAYING YES IS COSTING YOU TIME AND MONEY

I have a wonderful young dentist as a client looking to buy her first practice. She is energetic, proficient and I have no doubt, she will be successful throughout her career in dentistry. She is eagerly looking to purchase her first practice and as we negotiate with the seller, I can tell she is looking for reasons to make the deal work.

But the deal is not working. It’s falling apart. The selling dentist is retiring and letting his practice go into decline. The asking price for the practice is too high because of the trend of client attrition (loss), which is significant.

Still, my client is looking for ways to justify the purchase price.

Practice location, proximity to other dentists who are retiring…these are all justifiable reasons stated by my client to purchase the practice at the higher price. But the numbers don’t support it.

What’s really behind this reasoning?

Sometimes we need to step back and look at what’s driving our decisions. Unfortunately, I’m concerned that it may be fear driving this decision. I can tell in our communications together.

Fear of wasting time

“I started negotiating this practice in September and now it is June and we still don’t have a deal. I could have been looking at other opportunities.”

Fear of wasting money

“I’ve had to pay the cost of lawyers and accountants in order to perform the due diligence on the practice and now I may not buy it.”

Fear of losing the opportunity

“It will be so hard to find another opportunity like this. I need to jump on this one.”

I can relate and empathize with these fears because I’ve had them. I can remember how excited for the opportunity to buy my second tax practice. I was looking for ways for it to work but it wasn’t a fit. I ignored the signs, and, in the end, I should have likely passed on the practice and looked for other opportunities.

Saying no to others is difficult. It’s tough! I can tell my client really likes the seller personally and part of her concern is how to break the news that she might be no longer interested.

But let’s look at other ways the buyer could frame her thoughts using a better mindset:

Fear of wasting time

“I’ve spent the better part of 9 months in negotiations, however, I’ve learned a lot more about the process and what to expect when the next opportunity presents itself.”

Fear of wasting money

“I’ve had to pay the cost of lawyers and accountants and they helped me make the best decision for my future.”

Fear of losing the opportunity

“There will be more opportunities like this. I just need to be patient and keep looking.”

So much of this fear is fueled by other emotions such as your view of your own self-worth (I’m behind in comparison to my peers. I want to be respect by my peers.) A scarcity mindset (I’m lucky to have this opportunity to buy this practice and I may not get this opportunity again.).

Saying “no” is empowering!

Think of how many times business leaders such as Warren Buffett or Elon Musk say no on a daily basis. They are flooded with investment opportunities and they understand the true importance of “opportunity cost”.

We think of saying “no” to ourselves as a way of “losing” something when really there is an offsetting benefit we often don’t think of immediately. We may be gaining time and resources by not committing them elsewhere.

The next time you are faced with a difficult decision such as buying your own business. Are you willing to walk away? The easier it is for you to say “no”, the more satisfying it will be the next time you get to say “yes!”

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